Franz von Papen
German Empire |party = Zentrum }}Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen is the German Secretary for Foreign Affairs, as well as head of the Deutsche Zentrumspartei (Zentrum) . Important notice: This page contains lore relevant to the upcoming Germany rework, and it may not reflect the current in-game setup that well. The ultimate goal, to eventually fully transpose the changes made to the lore in-game, still stands. This lore also may not be final, and some minor changes may occur. History Before the Weltkrieg The son of Friedrich Franz Michael von Papen and Anna Laura von Steffens, two wealthy Westphalian Catholic landowners, Franz von Papen was educated as an officer. He attended various military schools; the Bensberg Cadet Academy, from 1891 to 1895, and in the Lichtenfelder Military Academy from 1895 to 1898, where he took advantage from the nearness to Berlin to regularly visit the city's museums and theatres. He then chose to join the cavalry, entering Dusseldorf Cavalry School in 1898, commissioned to the 5th Westphalian Uhlan regiment, stationed in Dusseldorf. Trained as a lancer, he then went to the Hanover Cavalry Riding School in 1902, spending a lot of time in England. After his wedding to Martha von Boch-Gelbau in 1905 and the birth of his first daughter, he pursued his ambition of entering the Great General Staff, finally managing to enter the Berlin Staff Academy in 1908, selected along with 150 other young officers for a trial period in April 1911, where he was exposed to the theories of military writer Friedrich von Bernhardi. In 1913, Papen completed his training and was promoted to captain, and soon afterwards named as military attaché to the USA and Mexico, arriving in the latter in January 1914 and observing the Mexican Revolution. He returned to Washington D.C. in July, shortly before the Weltkrieg broke out. Weltkrieg Although it has always been denied by Von Papen himself, he reportedly acted as a spymaster while in the United States, organizing economic espionage against Allied war efforts in Europe by means of attempting to purchase all available explosive substances, to prevent their use against the German war effort. On 28 December 1915, after the RMS Lusitania incident he was declared persona non grata by the U.S. after his exposure and recalled to Germany. En route, his luggage was confiscated, and 126 check stubs were found showing payments to his agents. Papen went on to report on American attitudes to both General Erich von Falkenhayn and the Emperor Wilhelm II. In April 1916, a United States federal grand jury issued an indictment against Papen for a plot to blow up Canada's Welland Canal, which connects Lake Ontario to Lake Erie, but Papen was safely on German soil; he remained under indictment until he became Reichskanzler, at which time the charges were dropped. During the Weltkrieg, Papen served as an officer first on the Western Front and then from 1917 as an officer on the Grosser Generalstab in the Middle East and as a major in the Ottoman army in Palestine, and later as colonel during the Italian offensive. Papen also served as intermediary between the Irish rebels and the German government regarding the purchase and delivery of arms to be used against the British during the Easter Rising of 1916, as well as serving as an intermediary with the Indian nationalists. After achieving the rank of colonel, he returned to Germany and left the army in 1920. Rise to Power Papen was aligned to the BdL (Bund der Landwirte) within the Zentrum, making him an important member within the conservative wing of the Zentrum, with his main allies being Adam Stegerwald and Heinrich Brauns. However, he was put to the sidelines under the Erzberger leadership, but after the fall of Erzberger following the 1928 election loss for the Zentrum, Wilhelm Marx's attempt at reconcilation between the wings increased his prominence in the party again. Nonetheless, Marx was unable to prevent the loss in support for the Zentrum in the 1932 election, causing his fall. Franz von Papen was elected head of the Zentrum, putting the conservative wing in charge of the party. Papen chose to align the Zentrum towards the DkP-DRP alliance. Political career * Military attaché to United States and Mexico (1913-1916) * German ambassador to Dublin, Ireland (1919-1922) * German ambassador to Rome, Italian Federation (1923-1925) * German ambassador to Hyderabad, Princely Federation (1925-1927) * German ambassador to Washington D.C., United States (1927-1930) * State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (1930-) Personal life Von Papen has 4 siblings and married Martha von Boch-Galbau in May 1905, daughter of a wealthy industrialist: together, they had five children: Antoinette (born in 1906), Isabella, Margaret, Friedrich Franz and Stephanie Marie Antoinette. See also *German Empire *Wilhelm II Category:People Category:Europeans Category:German-related topics